Hilltop Holdings Inc. Sells 24,764 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings cut its Paychex position by 70.8% in the first quarter, selling 24,764 shares and retaining 10,227 shares valued at approximately $942,000. Institutional investors collectively own 83.47% of Paychex.
• Paychex reported quarterly EPS of $1.32, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year to $1.61 billion. The company also announced a $1.19 quarterly dividend, representing a 4.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with Paychex carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $107.53, below its reported share price of $113.55.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 70.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,227 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 24,764 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Paychex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,988,393 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,569,218,000 after acquiring an additional 216,045 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,295,698,000 after acquiring an additional 263,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,093,958,000 after purchasing an additional 78,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $113.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.32. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The business services provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 50.90% and a net margin of 27.03%.The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.010 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Tucci sold 3,907 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.25, for a total value of $383,862.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 67,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,513. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.53.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas "Tom" Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company's core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers' compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.

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